Text of comment
given at the Task Force, Meeting in the Administrative Office of
the Courts, 303 Second Street, South Tower in San Francisco CA by
Mr. John Dukes
To: Judicial Council of
California, Administrative Office of the Courts
Regarding: Increased
"public trust and understanding"
- 19th November 1997
Dear sirs,
In response to your invitation dated
August 28th 1997 to support the creation of effective means of
public input into the governance of the courts and supporting
Judicial officers actively being engaged in outreach to increase
public understanding of the justice system.
As a non-law trained mediator I wish to
express.
- Civil law, often times, is
established by Politicians whose goals sometimes are, in
conjunction with media coverage, to enhance their
visibility, this detracts from trust.
- The aspect of identifying the
"wrong-doer" as someone other than an ordinary
citizen, precludes reasoned understanding.
- Ordinary people break the law.
Sometimes this is because the law is applied in the
letter and not in the spirit. However, the ordinary
citizen, using lawful procedures, to point that fact out,
can expect it to be time-consuming and immensely
frustrating.
- Having to argue for the spirit of
the law as opposed to the letter, breeds contempt, not
for the law so much as for the people who applied it.
- No one expects to be able to
"state their case" with someone who is carrying
a gun.
- The courts are clogged with people
seeking justice, wanting to "state their case",
where they believe they have been unjustly treated
already.
- The purpose of law is to resolve
rather than alienate. This is contrary to the
"business" of law, in which public trust is
truly absent.
- I am reminded when I get to be
right, that I have, already, made someone else wrong.
- Understanding means listening to
the people affected by the law and asking, how can help
be given, to resolve the situation, this time, next time.
- Trust means, to admit that we do
not have the answer, but that we seek it.